Claim · E-001
Luis Elizondo: In the internal emails he claims to have laid the groundwork for the UAP work with the Secretary of Defense's front office and proposes handing the related “portfolio” over to Neill Tipton; on September 11 he writes to him that the Secretary's office is aware of his involvement and is pleased with it.
Luis Elizondo · Aug 2017 · Internal emails within OUSD(I), late August – September 11, 2017 (released by the DoD under FOIA request 25-F-2554) (Document)
Direct knowledge AATIP and AAWSAP
Partly verified
A Navy email confirms briefings of pilots requested by OSD leadership and Elizondo's role as facilitator, but no document attests to a formal assignment, and the DoD released the emails with a warning that it cannot validate their authenticity.
- Original words
Front office is aware that you are now part of this endeavor
- In support
- A Navy official (email of June 5, 2019, signed DONCAPCO, name redacted) confirms that Elizondo facilitated contacts and introductions with other DoD components and that there were meetings with the pilots requested by OSD leadership, to which he personally accompanied them; Elizondo's attorney, Todd McMurtry, argued in 2024 that the Secretary's office approved the transfer of AATIP.
- Against or denials
- The DoD released the emails with a warning that it cannot validate their authenticity; the same Navy email specifies that there were no funding lines or significant resources; Tipton replied that sooner or later he would need to figure out what that activity really was.
Sources
- DoD, FOIA 25-F-2554 – documents on Elizondo 2017–2019 (emails, letter of June 5, 2019, replies from the Navy and the press office) (primary source)
- The Black Vault – DoD emails on the 2017 UAP briefings and on Elizondo's role in AATIP, May 28, 2025 (analysis)
- The Black Vault – AATIP and the Pentagon: the dispute over the program's documents, April 23, 2024 (analysis)
On this site
People 1
Claims 2
- Luis Elizondo: According to Reid's memorandum, Elizondo told him on the phone that for many years he had been secretly… Unverifiable
- Luis Elizondo: Claims to have directed for almost a decade a sensitive aerospace threat identification program (AATIP)… Disputed
Inconsistencies 1
Documents 1
- The Pentagon's emails on Elizondo and AATIP (2017–2019), released in 2025 Original available
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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.